Eleven months after the United States released historic tax
reforms, the federal government released its long awaited response
on Nov. 21 with its fall economic update. Given that Finance Canada
had been saying all along it would not respond to these reforms in
"knee-jerk" fashion, one might have expected a thoughtful
and measured response to deal with Canadian competitiveness
concerns.
Instead, what was delivered by the Finance Minister was
essentially self-congratulatory theatre about how great the economy
is doing (even as the economic engine of Canada – Alberta
– is suffering greatly), along with limited provisions for
accelerated depreciation that will have a minimal impact on most
private businesses.
